


A Deeprealm Walk

by Alliance (Xazz)



Series: Cypress Hall [6]
Category: Flight Rising
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 05:59:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14970575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazz/pseuds/Alliance





	A Deeprealm Walk

With the sun high overhead the humidity was unbearable and [Reza](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=36309765) was sweating his entire weight while helping [Spayar](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=36112116) erect a fence around a new garden patch for his mate. They’d been at this all morning and part of the early afternoon, taking turns hammering the posts into the soft ground around the area Von had marked as where he wanted this patch to be. Tomorrow they’d attach the cross beams but today it was just putting in the posts. When Spayar finally got the last one hammered in Reza, way too dramatically, collapsed across the post. “Uhhhg, can we take a break now, dad?” he complained.

Spayar chuckled and didn’t seem at all disturbed by the heat at all despite sweating just as hard as Reza was and his complexion was even darker than him too. “Yeah, we’re done for the day.”

“Thank the Lightweaver,” he groaned and looked around briefly for some shade. He saw [Tassa](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=37712847) and [Von](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=36360273) in the field over weeding a patch of melons and not so subtly staring while they were at it. He nudged Spayar with his elbow and nodded at them.

“Enjoying the view you two?” Spayar called over to them, a grin splitting his face.

“Oh Spay, you have no idea,” Tassa said. Von didn’t say anything, he was just looking down, his ears a bit red, and that wasn’t sunburn. “Why don’t you come over here and give us a closer look, huh?”

“Okay, I’m leaving now,” Reza said with the air of ‘I don’t want to hear about my parents having sex’ and pushed off the post and went to find some shade. He heard the adults talking but tuned them out. He hated listening to Spayar flirt with Von or Tassa, even if Tassa’s were mostly in a humoring way.

Reza went and found some shade under a large tree out in the middle of where several fields formed a cross between them. The area surrounding the tree was full of grass and the roots were hidden. Perks of living with druids. He flopped down against the tree and leaned back against it. He’d have gone to the Conservatory but it was a bit too far and Reza just wanted to sit down now. He yawned a little and closed his eyes. He hadn’t the time to even go to sleep when [Tyger](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=37634688) skipped up to him. “Hey Rezzza,” she said in a sing-song voice.

“Hey, kiddo.”

“Whatcha doing?” she asked, swinging her arms.

“Taking a nap. So why don’t you go bother your daddy or somethin’.”

“Okaaay. Don’t sleep too long or you’ll spoil your actual sleep.”

“Yeah okay,” he said and shooed her away a little. She skipped on down the path the way Reza had come, towards where the druids were talking.

Reza closed his eyes again and it didn’t take him too long to fall asleep. He wasn’t expecting how deeply he slept until he realized he was in the Deeprealm. He looked around uneasily, his wings shifting, his crest pressing down. He didn’t really like being here. In the distance of the light of the strange, haloed, sun, he could see shapes moving in the mist high up in the sky. Nothing looked familiar. Was he still home? This didn’t look like the Tangle. It was flat grassland like the land on the other side of the river to the east. That meant he should go west and meet the river but there was one problem. He had no idea how to determine what way was west. The sun was at perfect noon time and he knew from experience wouldn’t change.

Feeling nervous he just picked a direction. If nothing else Spayar would come and call him home. He could always count on Spayar to call him home.

He ended up walking a long way. The further he went the more tired and more disorientated he felt. He hated the Deeprealm. He crossed the plain and came to a great body of water, the waves still and frozen in place. He wasn’t disturbed by the fact that he could walk across the surface of the open water until he came to an island where he was finally so tired he hunkered down under a palm. Out over the water, he saw mirages of things to come and things of the past. Time played out against the swirling, milky, sky and Reza watched the dramas unfold but couldn’t remember what he was seeing.

“You’re a long way from home,” a voice said and he whipped around, his crest going up. There, standing beside him, was [another wildclaw](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=38208293), hide dark with pale bone-like markings across her hide, her eyes glowing an eerie red. Behind her swirled a mist that seemed to rise up from her claws. Reza’s eyes widened. He’d never met another dragon in the Deeprealm before. Spayar said he wasn’t the only Walker there was. His cousin out in the Labyrinth looked after one same as Reza. But this was the first time he’d ever stumbled across one. He just stared at her. She cocked her head at him, crest half raised. “What’s the matter? Coatl got your tongue?”

“Wow,” was all he said.

She chuckled. “You shouldn’t be this far out in the sea. You should go home.”

Home. Reza didn’t even know which way he’d come from. “I don’t know the way,” he said stupidly.

“I could show you.”

“You could?”

“Yes.”

“I do want to go home.”

“Come on then,” she beckoned to him and Reza struggled tiredly to his feet. “You know it’s dangerous to sleep in the Deeprealm.”

“I figured,” he sighed.

She grabbed his claw, “Just come with me, I’ll take you home.”

“How do _you_ know the way?” he asked her.

“I have a map,” she flashed him a toothy grin.

Reza didn’t question aloud how someone could have a map for a place that was impossible to navigate and had no beginning or end or consistency in its landmarks and existed in all times at once so things never made perfect sense but he thought it. He nodded a little but was skeptical even as he walked with her. They crossed the waters and made it back to dry land. They didn’t speak and other than to pull him into the shadow of a cliff they never stopped walking. Reza looked up, eyes wide, as a pod of Hunters glided across the sky, clicking and creaking at each other. He could only make out their shapes as shadows in the mist above but it was enough to make him nervous. They were larger than the largest Imperial he’d ever seen, larger than the rare sky whale they saw out in the distance over the Field of Reeds, even larger than one of the Lightweaver’s Gazes that patrolled the dilapidated ruins of the Hewn City. Then the Hunters passed out to sea and the female wildclaw grabbed him by the claw and led him on further.

Before Reza knew it they were back in the swampy interior of the Hall the trees around simultaneously dying and sprouting, the islands filled with trees and completely clear-cut. “Oh, home,” he said. He’d been skeptical but she’d done what she said she’d do and bring him home. He looked at her. “Thank you.”

She gave him a little grin. “You’re welcome, Reza.”

Before he could ask her about that Reza woke up because Tyger was poking his cheek. The sun had moved far across the sky and looked like it was late afternoon. “Uhg, stop that,” he grumbled and batted at her hand.

“Tassa said to come get you cause it’s time for dinner,” she said.

“It is?” he yawned. “How long was I asleep for?”

“A while,” she said. “I told you not to take a long nap, now you’re not going to sleep tonight.”

“Yeah yeah, squirt,” Reza groaned as he got to his feet and rubbed his face. As he did he remembered his visit to the Deeprealm. “Shit-

“You said a bad word! I’m telling daddy,” Tyger cried in a sing-song voice.

“Very funny, Tyger,” he gave her a look. “I didn’t ask her name,” he huffed.

“Who’s name? You know my name,” Tyger said.

“This… really pretty wildclaw I met in my dreams,” he said stupidly.

“PFFFT you’re so funny Reza, it was just a dream. Now c’mon, it’s time for dinner,” and she grabbed his hand. Reza let her drag him away towards the Conservatory on the other side of several fields for the evening meal.


End file.
